Christmas Favorites

I got quite a few lovely things for Christmas, here are some of favorites:

One of my favorite artists on Etsy is Tina Rodas of Hi Tree. She makes the most adorable felt trees and creatures :) I finally decided on one and got it for Christmas yay :) now my little tree stump can cheer me on in my creative endeavors!

Tina is talented and her craftsmanship is amazing! Look at all the lovely details :)

I've been wanting a stone necklace for awhile and I have long admired EwelinaPas wonderful jewelry. I really love this Blue Lapis Pendant and she lets you pick your own chain length so you can have it really long or short, that's awesome to have the option :) 
 

I'm feeling brave enough to show my PJ Christmas photos lol. My other gifts that I'm super excited about are my nutri ninja so I can make health shakes with fresh veggies from my garden YAY :)
And of course Sherlock season 3 let the binge watching begin!!! Actually, I'm going to take my time re-watching all the season to pass the long gap in between new episodes and see The Imitation Game in theaters of course :)

Did you get any handmade gifts? What was your favorite?

Christmas in Review

Hello again, I've been away for quite awhile but I'm back and brimming with things to share!

How was your Christmas? Mine was wonderful so nice to bake, spend some down time with family, take a nap and not have to go anywhere for a little bit.

1.We discovered some really great Christmas lights it was 2 houses combined to make a great dual presentation! The blue house was so captivating and beautiful you just wanted to stare at it all night.

 

2. We got a new little tree this year and we just bought some retro baubles for it and also decorated it with little mini stockings, I think it turned out great :)

happy tree

3. We went to the Dallas Arboretum to see the 12 Days of Christmas installations, one for all of the 12 days. I wasn't sure what to expect really, and I wasn't really excited to go, I knew nothing would be as good as Chihuly at the Arboretum. But it was really cool to walk around to each installation, they were animated and had Christmas music playing, they were very detailed, I couldn't imagine trying to plan and assemble such a thing. In all it was very fun and put me in the Christmas spirit :)

The collage picture shows the swans swimming. Here's the 5 golden rings installment with twirling rings. (My 1st video upload wahoo! )

4. Christmas baking! I had a few things I wanted to bake but only managed to bake peanut butter cookies with kisses on top, they were good but I have some more stuff to cross off my list like these by next week. :)

Grandma's Christmas cookies <3

I also made my Mom a snowman apron for Christmas, it was pretty fun to come up with a concept and not be 100% sure how it was all going to come together but that's my typical process when it comes to sewing. Hurry up and finish so you can see what it looks like, I really need to be more patient in that area, I'm gonna work on that in 2015 ;)

I also got to sketch some I made gift tags and worked on a Christmas doodle with Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus wearing beanie hats with pom poms .....warm, cozy and happy for Christmas :)

christmas tags

I have more to share so stayed tuned :) Hope you had a wonderful Christmas! Did you do anything fun?

A Crafty Christmas

Yes, I am a week late but better late than never :)

  I did manage to do a couple of crafty things during my Christmas break. One was decorating the clay ornaments I had made a couple weeks ago.
Sharpies worked really well on the baked Sculpey clay. My mom even helped me with some.

a little owl, multicolored star and gingerbread girl

We also mustered up the courage to tackle our mini canvases which was really fun. I don't think they turned out how either of us imagined but I'm still happy with them. I've always loved painting.
We are wanting to take another painting with a twist class again soon.

Mini art: Abstract heart is mine and Abstract view of a tree is my Mom's

 

Our painting with a twist sunflowers

Also this was the first year I received presents from Etsy, it takes a little get used to but my Mom and I  have learned a lot from doing things with my shop. I was like a kid in a candy store, it was so cool to see the way everyone packaged everything and actually have the items in hand to see the awesome craftsmanship up close.

Me and my Katie Daisy Print

I also got a print from Nan Lawson, I'm not normally a huge cat fan, but this little guy just makes me
smile.

sucha cutie

I have always been interested in ceramics, a few years ago I was lucky enough to take a hand building ceramics class and became even more enamored with the artistry of it. One etsy artist in particular has intrigued me for a few years. Now I can say I own one of her awesome pieces!

I love porcelian

As I mentioned in the last post I also got this awesome Mindy Lacefield print. Color makes me so happy and so does her mixed media art.

Did you get anything handmade for Christmas? I'd love to hear about it :)

Snow at Christmas

Snow at Christmas is rare, even more of a feat when you live in Texas.
The weatherman said maybe 1 to 2 inches but I was skeptical and then like clock work the big fluffy flakes started pouring in. It's a really great snow perfect for making snowmen. I hope you are having a wonderful Christmas!